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Recently we’ve been really into going out to brunch over here! We so hip. Just kidding. Although on Sunday I was having dinner with friends and started talking about brunch places and realized I sounded more “I think I’m so cultured” than most pre-teens on Instagram. Whoops. I really don’t know anything about what makes one restaurant better than another, other than my personal experiences there, but let me tell you that Corbeaux Bakehouse on 17th Ave is SERIOUSLY taking the cake these days.

We headed over to Corbeaux for the first time for brunch a couple weekends ago and it was all kinds of incredible. The decor (hello white brick walls paired with golden lighting), the food (that whipped ricotta tho), the dishes (robin egg blue everything, please)… everything had me smitten. The company wasn’t all that bad either;) I ordered the French toast and Tim had the eggs Benedict and both have us tempted to return again very soon.

The whole point of our day was actually to spend the afternoon at the Millarville Christmas Market. But after reading real-time posts on Facebook of the 45-minute long drive up line people were still waiting in (what is this madness?!) we decided to scratch that and instead head over to the less-exciting Okotoks Christmas Festival. One way or another I was going to a Christmas market that day. Unfortunately the Okotoks market was the definition of uneventful and I kind of wish we would’ve just strolled around 17th Ave for the remainder of the afternoon? You win some (Corbeaux), you lose some (the most boring Christmas market ever). Either way I’m pretty sure Corbeaux will slowly but surely become “our place”; I can’t wait to go back!

How often is it that, in university, you get to go on a field trip?! When I was searching for potential courses to enrol in, I jumped at the chance to be in one that was taught by one of my favourite profs and included a field trip. Little did I know that this class outing would be to one of Calgary’s most-awarded restaurants, River Café on Prince’s Island Park.

This place is like a dream. I’m all about the ambiance when it comes to my dining experiences (as I’ve discovered through this food studies communications course) so River Cafe fit this bill perfectly. Because this restaurant’s on the Island, you can’t even drive to it — you have to walk. Which is seriously lovely. It forces you to have an experience and that really made an impact on me. Apart from all that, the food was to die for. Like, the most decadent.

Yup, that was our menu. I still think about everything I ate, weeks later. Especially when preparing my usual KD at least once a week at home. The restaurant’s all about organic, local, high-quality eating, so their menu changes up about eight times a year. That being said, I feel the burning need to come back here for every meal, in every season. (Once I win the lottery, of course.)

I’m grateful for my education on a day-to-day basis and this experience shot that gratitude through the roof. Dining at River Café was probably in the top five of my favourite university moments so far. It was a unique, filling afternoon, and one that I’m aware I won’t have an experience similar to for very long time!

We got married:) On August 22, Tim and I had the most perfect day of our lives — our wedding day. We poured so much of our hearts into this day and it all came together in a way we never could have imagined. The love that was present was overwhelming and beautiful. There will never be anything like it and it was my favourite day of my life so far. The day was warm and calm and filled with so many tears and laughs and I just can’t even believe it was real life. In many ways it was a dream. A perfect dream. I love this man so much and can’t believe how blessed I am to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.

There are countless moments and memories that I frequently look back on from this day, all of them too priceless to try and describe here. From hearing our pastor speak before marrying us, to feeling the look in Tim’s eyes all day, to the speeches during the reception, to our first dance — it would be a disservice to try and describe it all here, so I’ll try and let these few photos do the talking.

Below is a mish-mash of some photos I stole from various sources; they’re mainly iPhone and none are my own. It’s a very small glimpse into our day but I hope you enjoy! Expect more wedding posts to come in the future.

Every summer I try to go camping. It helps initiates that at-ease, summertime feeling and when you live in Alberta, you can’t just not take advantage of the beautiful camping zones we have so close to us. When my friend Sam invited Tim and I to come out for the night near Sheep River with her and some friends, we jumped at the chance. Only thing is, without service, Google Maps isn’t the most reliable.

Tim and I began driving westward out of Calgary, only to realize we hardly had any gas left. With over an hour left in our drive and having already driven for 45 minutes, we had to keep going to find a gas station. Well, in the nearly middle-of-nowhere town of Millarville, on a Saturday, after dinnertime, most small-town gas stations (apparently) aren’t open. We tried an old-school gas pump only to find the store was closed and the town had no cell service, so we had to keep driving.

Finally reaching the little town/nook of Turner Valley, we found a gas station! But… they were clean out of gas. How convenient. I was not the happiest… But after about 15 minutes, the gas station lady said the gas had filled up and we could start pumpin’. Plus, to make me feel better Tim bought me chocolate. He knows me too well.

Once we had gas we set out on the road again, only to realize Google Maps was taking us back to Calgary. Wrong. SO we had to turn around and start driving the right way, only adding more time to our trip. By the time we were on the right road I was pretty happy, because the drive was stunning, but also disappointed because we were running so late.

Eventually we reached Sheep River territory. I spotted a tiny bench looking over the view of the mountains, forest and river, and decided we needed to go back there ASAP. After driving for way too long without direction from Google Maps, the sun was going down and Tim and I had no idea where we were. Maybe we were close to the campsite, maybe we were still another half hour away. Who knew! So, we decided to head it in, with heavy hearts, and call it a night. But… what was waiting for us was that lovely little bench, which is where all these photos are from.

We had a cozy time just talking and laughing and admiring our hour-and-a-half-away backyard scenery. I felt really bad about not going camping (#fomo), but the time we took to get lost and milk it for all it was worth was, well, totally worth it. Sometimes you need to go off the grid, however unintentionally it may be, and just enjoy the moment.

Near the end of June my church ended off the youth year with a big hang-out at Camp Chestermere. The lake was beautiful, we all had smiling faces and there was tons to eat, so the night was a success. I can’t believe how fast this year went by! I got so much closer to my girls and the other leaders over the past 10 months, probably with a big thanks to the Mexico trip. It’s such a privilege to watch these girls grow up; we’ve had such incredible times that I wouldn’t trade for anything. They are basically a comedy crew who also have this beautiful, confident outlook on their lives – we can talk about anything and they make me laugh til my stomach hurts. I love being their leader and am interested to see what the next year brings. A few photos from our night below, if you’d like to see.